Ultimate Cheerleaders (The First Five Years)

Friday, May 16, 2008

MVC Final Auditions

The long, challenging and rewarding road to earn a spot on the 2008 Minnesota Viking Cheerleader team ended at the Mall of America on Tuesday night as the 34-member team was chosen among a class of 50+ talented and charismatic finalists.

The finalists collaborated to perform a multi-faceted program that included an impressive variety of dances in front of a large panel of judges and hundreds of fans and mall shoppers at the Rotunda inside the Mall of America. The program consisted of kick and modeling segments, routines to jazz, funk and rock music and a pom/cheer segment.

The process of forming this year’s squad began with a tryout workshop in March that was open to everyone and anyone interested in exploring the opportunity to be a MVC. The workshop offered helpful hints and pointers to cheerleading hopefuls as they decided whether or not to audition for the team.

The first official stage of selecting the new squad was held in March when open auditions were held at Winter Park and MVC Coach Tami Krause and here panel of consultants narrowed a large group of more than 150 women down to a smaller group of 55.

The next step was training camp, a three-week period of practices, conditioning and interviews. The finalists also learned their routines, which they performed Tuesday night during the final round of the selection process.

Throughout the process, the candidates spent countless hours with each other learning routines and developing chemistry. In fact, they are split up into groups of four called “tryout teams.” These teams practice the routines and dance steps with each other in preparation for the final audition. What results is a strong sense of camaraderie among the ladies and friendships that will last beyond their time with the team.

The chemistry built among the team was on display just minutes prior to the final auditions beginning when all 54 candidates huddled on the stage and broke the huddle while shouting a cheer in unison.